Fate: Vestigial Spirit
by Dragongod Eclipsen
Summary: In a world where Heroic Spirits can be summoned outside of Holy Grail Wars, but only by select individuals, Anthony Corvinius longs to summon a heroic spirit of his own. One night his wish comes true, but the Servant he summoned has an origin stranger than even Kojiro Sasaki's.
1. Chapter 1

Hello to all. I just wanted to put a bit of a disclaimer here before anybody reads this.

I wrote this during a very gripping fever, and it's mostly just fan-fueled ideas mashed into words. I apologise if this is outside anybody's tastes and would like to say that I am sorry for the heresy you are about to read.

Good day

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Anthony sighed as he mashed the X button on his controller, the enemy on his TV screen taking minutes of intense assault and strategy to take down. With some effort and no small amount of consumable items, the foe fell with a thunderous crash.

Anthony Corvinius was his name. He was a normal high schooler; by his standards anyway. What he wasn't keen to admit in normal conversation was his Magus lineage. He had yet to recieve the family crest, but he still had dreams of becoming an accomplished Mage.

Though what he wanted to do most of all, was summon his own Servant. After the Sixth Holy Grail War and the ensuing wish that came with it, Servants could be summoned at any time. The only drawback was that they could only be summoned by select and very powerful individuals, and even then a summoning was little more than luck of the draw.

Anthony brushed his hand through his messy brown hair, watching as his character emitted a golden burst of light upon leveling up. He pressed upward on the D-pad, directing his character towards a nearby chest and tapping the A button to collect the multicolored loot.

Anthony was only in his Junior year of high school, meaning that he had an entire lifetime left to summon a Servant. That didn't stop him from wishing he could summon one now, though.

Suppressing a yawn, Anthony readjusted his position on the couch. One of his favorite pastimes between his school studies and training as a Magus was gaming, and it allowed him to forget about the constant needs of both lives. Sure, being a Magus was nice and the chance to summon a Servant is something he would love to have, sometimes he wanted to simply live a normal life without such worries.

He continued to tap away at the button on his controller, directing his character through the dungeon he had entered more than thirty minutes ago. Thanks to the internet, he knew that the dungeon still had a second half to work through. Anthony sighed, resigning himself to another all nighter.

-Transition-

Anthony awoke groggily, his back aching from the awkward angle he had slept in. He gazed about his room, slowly confirming that everything was in it's designated place. His deep blue curtains blocked out what morning light there was and his various thaumaturgy related items added some spice to his room.

He closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the events of the previous night. He remembered gaming for a few hours before a thunderstorm rolled in. The thunder ended up putting him to sleep, so he woke up on his couch instead of his bed.

Remembering the night before vividly, Anthony levered himself from his resting spot and moved over to his bed. He lifted his phone from his night stand and checked the time.

It was only eleven thirty two. Thankfully it was a Sunday, relieving his fears of being late for school. He already had a spotty attendance record and he definitely didn't want to alter the school's records with thaumaturgy like his father had forced him to do in middle school.

He unplugged his phone from the charger and moved over to the closet. Upon opening the wooden sliding doors, Anthony inspected the many shirts and hoodies he had. After picking a set of casual clothing consisting of a black T-shirt, some sweatpants and a pair of black socks, he closed the door to his closet and headed for the shower.

Anthony silently thanked his luck for having a shower in his bedroom, as sharing a bathroom with his older sister would've been strange. He quickly showered and dressed before making sure that his bedroom was in it's normal state.

After double checking that his things were in the right places, Anthony moved through his bedroom door and headed for the stairs. The wooden staircase creaked under his weight, a familiar sound to hear around the house, especially during the holidays.

He scratched his head as he rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, passing through the living room and into the kitchen.

Anthony instantly knew something was off when he saw his father leaning against the kitchen doorway, coffee in hand. His father usually only adopted the position when he or his sister broke something or got caught doing something unsavory.

Anthony swallowed before stepping forward.

"Something wrong, dad?"

He asked, giving a curious look. The older man simply looked at his aon before taking a drink from his mug. Anthony cringed. His father only took a drink when something was seriously wrong.

"I don't know, you tell me."

The older Magus stated, his deep and gravely voice filled with something akin to disappointment. Anthony knitted his eyebrows before opening his mouth to plead his case.

"Dad, I don't know what you're talking about. Honestly."

The older man moved his mug around, making the liquid within move around in a whirlpool. Strangely, his father liked his coffee with great amounts of creamer, making him a bit of an odd duck among older coffee drinkers.

Anthony supressed a sigh.

"Dad, just tell me what's wrong."

The older man looked into his coffee and took another sip. Anthony waited nervously, knowing that the situation must have been dire for his father to be acting in such a way.

"Go see for yourself."

The older man said, keeping his gaze trained on his coffee. Anthony raised an eyebrow. His father wasn't one for beating around the bush, let alone being so vague in his answers. Anthony suppressed another sigh before stepping into the kitchen.

What he saw made him pause.

At the usually empty kitchen table sat an armored person writing neatly in a small journal, despite the helmet atop their head that most certainly obscured their sight. They wore armor seemingly Nordic on origin, topped by their helmet that had two downward curves horns on the sides. A green sword rested at their belt and a round shield was attached to the back of their armor, with neither seeming to discomfort them.

The person continued to write in the journal, completely oblivious to Anthony entering the room.

At first, the only thing that ran through Anthony's mind was confusion. Why was there an armored person just sitting in their kitchen? Why didn't his father just kick this person out?

Finally, Anthony broke himself from his confusion and cleared his throat, which had the added benefit of catching the armored person's attention. They looked up from their journal before setting aside their writing quill and clasping their hands together.

"Ah, I see you're awake. I apologize for the intrusion, but you were asleep when I first arrived."

"Uh, I'm sorry, but am I supposed to know who you are?"

Anthony asked, making his confusion visible. The person paused before leaning back slightly.

"Of course. I forgot to introduce myself... Apologies."

With that the person lifted their hands and grasped their helmet, pulling it off their head and revealing their appearance.

The person was actually a man, seemingly in his mid thirties. A mane of white hair sat atop his head paired with a Van Dyke moustache and a soul patch. His eyes were a piercing red and were strangely slitted, like a snake or reptile.

He set his helmet on the table before returning his hands to their previous position.

"My name is Eclipsen. I am known as the Vestige, or the Hero of Coldharbour. I was summoned here upon a Mage's behalf as a Servant. Now I must ask, are you my master?"

Anthony's mind froze. A Servant? This man was a Servant? He quickly checked his hand, finding a set of Command Seals emblazoned upon the back of his right hand. He glanced between the man and the Seals, his brain taking a moment to fully process his situation.

After four glances between the two, Anthony came to a full realisation. He summoned a Servant, one that he couldn't recall being summoned before.

He looked up at the man, whose gaze was inquisitive.

"I guess I am."


	2. Chapter 2

The two stood in silence for a moment, with the Servant inspecting his new master with keen eyes. Anthony had to resist the urge to fidget, as the man's gaze was like a thousand needles hovering above him.

Eclipsen motioned towards the chair on the opposite side of the table, obviously offering for Anthony to take a seat. After a second of hesitation, he did so.

After Anthony sat down Eclipsen wasted no time in donning his helmet once more.

"So Master, do you have any preferences in how I should conduct myself?"

Eclipsen asked. Anthony looked at the table, running through a couple of scenarios in his head. His sister was aware of Magecraft and their father's position, so he had no reason to keep the Servant in spirit form inside the house. Anthony's magic circuits were more than able to handle a Servant's Mana requirements, so he could probably get away with keeping Eclipsen materialised.

"Do you have any clothes besides your armor?"

Anthony asked. Eclipsen, who Anthony decided to just call Saber, nodded. In a breeze of Mana infused air, Saber's armor disappeared and was replaced by what looked like midieval casual clothes. A simple longsleeve jerkin covered Saber's chest while a pair of leather pants and boots concealed his lower body. His sword and shield remained strapped to his back and side, most likely due to habit.

Anthony noticed the tattoos on Saber's skin almost immediately. They spanned most of Saber's upper body, ending at his neck and reaching down to his knuckles. Anthony wasn't going to ask if they went further down, because thay would simply make things very awkward.

"I think we should be fine for now. You can stay materialized around the house and you are free to use the shower and bathrooms, just try not to bother my sister too much."

Saber raised a silver eyebrow upon hearing the word 'sister'. Anthony leaned back in his chair, already predicting the question he was about to be asked.

"I was not aware you had siblings, Master. Should I avoid her?"

"No, she's okay to be around. Just try not to annoy her. If she gets annoyed with you, then I never hear the end of it."

Anthony said with a sigh. Saber chuckled in response to the statement, visibly relaxing by leaning back a bit in his chair.

They sat in relative silence for a few moments, with Saber lifting his quill after a short time.

Anthony eyed his new Servant wearily, watching as he wrote a few more lines in the journal he had in front of him.

"So, you're a Saber Servant, right?"

"Yes. I do believe it is the result of my preference for swords. Though I can wield nearly any weapon."

"Where are you from? If you don't mind explaining."

Saber paused, seemingly taking a moment to contemplate the request before setting aside his quill once more. Anthony was quick to get comfortable in his seat at the table. This was most likely to be a long explanation.

"As far as I can tell, my existence in this world is something similar to a Phantom. I exist, but I do not. I am from the world of Nirn, specfically the continent of Tamriel. In your world, my home is fictional. No more than the product of an intelligent mind. Yet, due to my world existing as a form of entertainment, the minds of the masses see me as if I exist. The World accommodates this paradox, and records me into the Throne of Heroes as if I exist in the way you or a an animal might. Due to the nature of my world, I am one of many Heroic Spirits that could have been summoned. I am the product of another's creativity, and as such I am only one of millions of others that were created by another. Had you played the game my world is based from, you would've summoned the character that you created instead of summoning a random Heroic Spirit."

Anthony leaned back in his chair and gripped the base of his nose. He was already getting a headache.

"So, in Layman's terms, I could have summoned anyone?"

"Essentially."

"Alright, well let's just leave that for later. Next question then."

"Please, feel free to ask."

The statement sounded genuine. It sounded as though Saber enjoyed explaining such things. His posture was relaxed, yet it had enough grace to seem effortless.

"So, are you the same as the others I could've summoned? Did you have the same experiences and do the same things?"

"Ah, a good question. No, I am unique. Each one of us has our own experiences and achievements. In fact, you could have summoned an Assassin or a Caster in my place. In that vein, they would have different memories and different personalities. Very few of us are similar."

Anthony felt the cogs in his mind begin to turn.

"In that case, would your stats be different from say, a Berserker?"

"Yes. If you had summoned a Berserker, their Mad Enhancement would have allowed them enough sanity to be able to solve somewhat complex puzzles while also being granted great strength and unique abilities."

"That makes me wonder. What are your stats?"

Anthony asked. Saber seemed to be prepared for the question, as he quickly moved his hands to the journal and pulled a paper from in between the other pages. He handed it to Anthony, who took it and unfolded it.

On the yellowed parchment was a list of stats and skills as well as various abilities.

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_Strength - A_

_Defense - A_

_Agility - B_

_Magical Energy - B_

_Luck - C_

_Noble Phantasm - A_

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"Oh wow, you have some pretty good stats."

Anthony said as he read the paper a second time. Saber simply nodded, his clothing making a few sounds as he did so. Their attention was soon taken by Anthony's father, who strode into the room to refill his cup of coffee.

Anthony turned in his chair, watching warily as his father filled his cup and retreated back to the living room, all while maintaining a nuetral face. The newly appointed Master knew that he would need to talk to his father soon, but currently he had other priorities.

"I assume you and your father have a strained relationship?"

Or not. Anthony sighed as he set the stat paper on the table and rested his arms on said table. Saber waited patiently, his fingers still locked together in front of him. The Master took a few minutes to think over his explanation.

"If you would rather not tell, I-"

"No, it's fine. It's just... My Dad is really proud of his position as a Mage, and-"

"He feels incompetent due to your success at summoning me?"

There it was. Saber watched Anthony closely, noting that his Master didn't even try to hide his distress. The young man simply pressed his face into his hands and sighed.

Saber looked down at his journal, picking up his writing quill and jotting down a few notes concerning his Master's feelings about his father. He wanted to take measures to reapair their relationship, mostly out of his habit to fix any problems he saw.

Saber looked up from his journal, finding his Master still sulking.

"Master, do you have any plans for today?"

Anthony sighed. He had planned for today to just be a lazy day. He would rather it remain that way.

"Not in particular. I guess I could get you acquainted with my sister and give you a tour around town."

Saber nodded slightly, his own plans already beginning to come to bear.


End file.
